This invention relates to a dust eliminator for a combine, and more particularly to a dust eliminator that mounts to the feeder housing of a John Deere combine.
The hazards to health and good vision of the operator of a combine are well known to those who have utilized or seen such equipment harvesting and threshing grain in a field. The grain must be fairly dry before this operation can be commenced, or else a pasty material can be produced as the combine moves through the field. However, when the grain is sufficiently dried to afford the proper conditions for harvesting and threshing, an appreciable quantity of dust is produced as the grain is cut or picked up from the windrows, fed through an undershot conveyor to the thresher, and then processed between the cylinder and the concave. This dust interferes with the vision of the operator, often resulting in the operator driving the feeder housing over rocks, which enter the housing and cause damage to the equipment. The dust may also adversely affect the health of the operator, as the operator breathes in large quantities of dust throughout the day.
Earlier dust eliminators were hydraulically or electrically driven, resulting in difficulty in incorporation into existing harvesters and expensive operation. Other earlier dust eliminators required a special housing to be incorporated in the combine feeder housing for attachment of the dust eliminator. When these dust eliminators were in place, the feeder housing could not be inspected.
There is a need for a combine dust eliminator which eliminates the above problems of earlier dust eliminators. In particular, there is a need for a combine dust eliminator attachable to the feeder housing of a John Deere combine without modifying the feeder housing, and which can be easily tilted upward for inspection of the feeder housing through the inspection ports.